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October 2012: Issue 4
Official magazine of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce
Getting a Grip on
Healthcare
Inside: Healthcare: Best Practices & Policy Initiatives
Celebrating Manufacturing Month in October
Tommy Thompson & Tammy Baldwin: What's Best for Wisconsin?
Wisconsin’s
National GOP Leaders
Page 4
WISCONSIN
Business Voice
In this issue
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From the Editor
Not in my lifetime has
Wisconsin held such a
prominent spot in national
politics.

Who Broke the Economy?
Kurt R. Bauer, WMC’s President/CEO, dissects who is to blame for the
Great Recession.
Wisconsin Leads the Nation
WMC’s Senior Vice President James Buchen applauds Wisconsin’s
leaders in the national spotlight.
Legislative Voting Record & Working for Wisconsin Awards
View the Legislative Voting Record from the 2011-12 session and see
which legislators received an award their 75% or better voting record.
The Quotes Behind the Workforce Skills Gap
WMC Foundation President Jim Morgan talks about the impetus for
WMC’s involvement in solving the workforce paradox.
Step-up to the Job-Skill Challenge
This guest editorial from Todd Berry, President of the Wisconsin
Taxpayers Alliance, talks about the skills shortage.
Affordable Care Act
Wisconsin is moving forward to implement the federal healthcare act –
what that means for employers.
Looming Federal Tax Increases
WMC’s Director of Tax & Transportation Policy, Jason Culotta, details
the federal tax increases that will take effect in January.
The head of the Republican National
Committee, Reince Priebus, is a proud
Wisconsin native. We have a governor who
made international news because of his
courage to restore frugality here in Wisconsin.
We have a sitting U.S. Congressman on the
Vice Presidential ticket, and we have a solid
statesman in Senator Ron Johnson who has
achieved national prominence in only two
years. If Tommy Thompson wins the upcoming
election, it will be the first time since 1957
that Wisconsin will have Republicans in both
U.S. Senate seats.
Regardless of the outcome in November,
business leaders face challenges. I’m sure
issues such as rising healthcare costs,
taxes, employment concerns, and continued
uncertainty keep many of you up at night.
Tailored Label Products tells the story of one of their most productive
box makers.
The effects of the Affordable Care Act will not
be fully known for quite some time, but we do
know Wisconsin employers have been leading
the way in developing best practice initiatives
to control costs and help their employees live
healthier lives and be more productive.
Wisconsin employers are leading the way in healthcare best practices.
This month’s lead article features the issue of healthcare from the
perspective of the providers, insurers and employers.
This edition of Business Voice focuses on
healthcare – from both a policy, and a human
perspective.
Collision Course for Higher Energy Prices
Scott Manley, WMC’s Director of Environmental & Energy Policy,
breaks down the EPA Train Wreck.
Launching Youth with Disabilities into the Workplace
18Getting a Grip on Healthcare
22
24
New Marketing Campaign for WEDC
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Wisconsin Leading the Way in Healthcare Reform
Paul Jadin, CEO/Secretary of Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation introduces the new campaign to lure new businesses to
Wisconsin.
Made in Wisconsin
This month’s Made in Wisconsin feature includes a small brush
company supplying specialty brushes to more than 1,200 companies,
the world’s most well-known lip balm and the company that makes
survey markers for some of the most famous places on the globe.
Katy Ryder Pettersen
Editor, Wisconsin Business Voice
[email protected]
Rebecca Hogan, WMC’s Director of Health & Human Resource Policy,
makes the case that Wisconsin has had it right all along when it comes
to healthcare cost reform.
Ask the Board
WMC Board Member Dave Yanda, President/CEO of Lakeside Foods
in Manitowoc, shares his thoughts on the effect of this summer’s
drought.
Healthcare Best Practices
WMC has written a series of more than 25 healthcare best practices.
This feature pulls out the key points from those papers.
Workplace Violence: Preventing the Unthinkable
Wisconsin Safety Council Director Janie Ritter shares tips to help
employers prevent workplace violence incidents.
What’s Best for Wisconsin Businesses?
Candidates for U.S. Senate Tommy Thompson and Tammy Baldwin
share their vision for what each will do for Wisconsin businesses if
elected.
More to Madison than Politics
Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce retiring President Jennifer
Alexander writes about the non-political side of Madison.
Wisconsin Business Voice is published quarterly by Wisconsin
Manufacturers & Commerce. WMC is Wisconsin’s chamber of
commerce, manufacturers’ association, and safety council representing
businesses of all sizes and from every sector of the economy. Send
address changes to WMC, P.O. Box 352, Madison, WI 53701-0352.
WMC's physical address is 501 E. Washington Avenue, Madison,
WI 53703, (608) 258-3400. This publication is proudly printed on
paper made in Wisconsin.
Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President/CEO
Katy Ryder Pettersen, Editor ([email protected])
Jane Sutter, Designer ([email protected])
Who Broke the Economy?
Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President/CEO
N
o one trusts the ones who
broke it to fix it.
Therefore, assigning blame
as to which party’s policies
were responsible for the Great
Recession is critical to winning
the 2012 presidential race and
why the Obama Campaign has
produced a very effective television
ad featuring former President Bill
Clinton. In the ad, Clinton says
Mitt Romney and the Republicans
want to return to “the policies that
caused the problem in the
first place.”
What’s interesting is neither Clinton nor the Democrats
offer details about what specific policies they are talking
about. Perhaps that’s for good reason because the historical
record doesn’t support the charge.
Most economists say the recession was caused by the
burst housing bubble. The bubble, in turn, was caused by a
combination of low interest rates and intentionally relaxed
underwriting standards by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
the Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) chartered by
Congress to buy mortgages from banks and other mortgage
originators in what is called the secondary market.
Instead of encouraging people to achieve the American
Dream by saving for a down payment and buying a modest
“starter” home they could afford the monthly payments
and upkeep on, government policies created a shortcut.
Cheap money and easy credit would make home ownership
accessible to people with lower incomes and/or less than
perfect credit histories.
The result was millions of newly “qualified” homebuyers
flooded the market, inflating prices and creating a
nationwide housing bubble that eventually led to the
financial crisis of 2008.
In fairness, both political parties supported the idea of
an “ownership society” and there is plenty of blame to go
around, but it was Clinton who advanced the policies that
can be directly traced to the cause of the Great Recession.
On September 30, 1999, The New York Times reported
the move “will encourage those banks to extend home
mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good
enough to qualify for conventional loans.” The article went
on to say Fannie Mae “has been under increasing pressure
from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans
among low and moderate income people....”
When the first signs of what former Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan referred to as “froth” began to
appear in the housing market, it was Democrats who were
in denial.
Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), then the ranking
Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee
and destined to become one of the principal authors of the
Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, said in 2003 that critics were
exaggerating “a threat of safety and soundness.” He called
Fannie and Freddie “fundamentally sound financially”
and accused the Bush Administration, which was pushing
GSE reform, of conjuring “up the possibility of serious
financial losses to the Treasury, which I don’t see.” (As of
July, taxpayers have pumped $183.8 billion into Fannie and
Freddie since 2008.)
Frank wasn’t alone. Other prominent Democrats in
Congress, including Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY),
now the number two Democrat in the U.S. Senate, and
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) also rejected calls
to reverse course on the misguided cheap money/easy credit
approach to expanding homeownership.
Short memories have helped Clinton, Obama and the
Democrats get away with their false narrative that it
was actually unspecified Republican policies that ruined
the economy. The 2008 election helped as well. It was a
Democratic landslide because voters blamed George W.
Bush for the crisis if for no other reason than that he was
president when the near collapse occurred.
Victors get to write history and ironically, once in control
of the White House and both houses of Congress, it was
Democrats who also got to try and fix what they helped
break. BV
In 1999, Clinton signed into law the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act, which many accuse of loosening the Depressionera Glass-Steagall Act financial reforms. That same year,
Clinton pressured Fannie Mae to ease credit requirements
on loans that the GSE purchased from mortgage lenders.
Follow Kurt on Twitter @Kurt_R_Bauer
2
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Centers of America:
A TEAM Success Story
“We are very passionate about the care that we give our
patients; we see that same passion in what TEAM does
in their data centers.” - Chris Cashell, AVP Enterprise Technology
a TDS® company
Services, Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Tier III
Data Centers
(800) 728-8326 Des Moines, IA Cedar Falls, IA Madison, WI Minneapolis, MN St. Paul, MN team-companies.com
Wisconsin Leads the Nation
By James A. Buchen, WMC Senior Vice President of Government Relations
I
n a remarkable series of events,
Wisconsin’s top political
leaders have become some of
our nation’s top political leaders
and they intend to lead our
county back to fiscal sanity and
economic prosperity. They are
bringing Wisconsin values and
Wisconsin-tested fiscal and
economic policies to bear in
solving some of the nation’s most
intractable problems – crushing
deficits and protracted unemployment. And the country is
indeed fortunate to have them burst onto the national stage at
this most challenging moment in our nation’s history. The list
of Wisconsin-bred national leaders includes…
Governor Scott Walker
The national focus on Governor Walker’s efforts to
balance our state budget and reform public sector
collective bargaining laws was sharpened when he
decisively won a contentious recall election. The recall
became something of a national referendum on fiscal
policy and a triumph for the proposition that the cost
of government can be reduced without gutting essential
services. Walker’s principled leadership, bold policy
agenda and impressive results have established him as a
role model not only for other governors but our national
leaders as well.
Congressman/Vice Presidential
Candidate Paul Ryan
Congressman Ryan firmly established himself as a
national leader when he emerged as the principle architect
of the GOP plans to balance the budget and reform
Medicaid and other entitlement programs. His selection
as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate has
served to further elevate the stature of his policy proposals
and broaden the audience for his message. Few politicians
in our nation’s history have proven to be as conversant
in the arcane details of budgetary policy or as able to
communicate those issues as clearly and effectively to the
body politic. Clearly his selection strengthens the GOP’s
national ticket.
U.S. Senator Ron Johnson
With his upset victory over Russ Feingold, Senator
Johnson became only the second Republican elected to
the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin in the last 50 years and
is the only manufacturer currently serving in the Senate.
4
Since his election in 2010, Johnson quickly established himself
as an expert on one of the principle issues of our time – the
federal deficit. His in-depth understanding of the complexities
of the federal budget lead Senate leadership to take the unusual
step of appointing the freshman Senator to both the Senate
Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee where
he has continued to effectively champion the issue of deficit
reduction. His efforts have gained the attention of the national
media where he has become a regular guest on various news
talk shows. He has positioned himself to play a leading role in
any deficit reduction effort in the next session of congress.
Former Governor/U.S. Senate Candidate
Tommy Thompson
Governor Thompson entered the U.S. Senate race against
Tammy Baldwin as a well-respected national leader with an
impressive record of accomplishment. As the longest serving
Governor in Wisconsin history he left an indelible mark on
our state. His initiative in the areas of welfare reform, school
choice and tax reform became models for other states as well as
the federal government. Thompson’s appointment to lead the
massive U.S. Department of Health and Social Services under
George W. Bush propelled him onto the national stage. The
first-hand experience he gained as Governor, in administering
federal programs such as Medicaid, gave him valuable insight
into how these programs could be made more effective and
efficient. More recently his success as a private businessman
rounds out his resume and probably makes Governor
Thompson the most qualified person to ever run for the U.S.
Senate.
Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus
As chairman of the Republican Party Reince Priebus played a
key leadership role that helped set the stage for Wisconsin’s rise
to national prominence. He inherited a massive deficit from
his predecessor and quickly turned around the Party’s fortunes,
setting fundraising records in the process. His efforts have put
the Republican Party in a position to win the White House and
the U.S. Senate and lead the nation
for the next four years.
The common trait of these
uncommon leaders is that they
have the political courage to pursue
policy based on fundamental
principles. In a refreshing change
from the norm they make decisions
based on core beliefs rather than
political expediency. In short, they
stand for something. Voters, weary
of politicians who are long on
rhetoric but can’t or won’t deliver
on promises, are responding to
Wisconsin’s new leaders. While they
may not always agree with the policy
choices, voters do appreciate the
fact that these new leaders stand for
something and are willing to act on
their convictions.
There is much at stake in the
November elections. Voters have a
clear choice as to the future of our
country. Fortunately, Wisconsin
is leading the way with leaders
that have concrete solutions to our
nation’s problems, many of which
have been successfully tested right
here in our state. With Wisconsin
leading the nation there is hope for
the future. BV
2012Awards
Honoring Manufacturing
Excellence in Wisconsin
2012 nomination forms
available online.
www.wimoty.com
The annual awards competition
is sponsored by:
Legislative Voting Record
We are pleased to present the 2011-12 Legislative Voting record, WMC’s biennial business issue scorecard for
the Wisconsin state Legislature. This report is designed to help the business community see how individual
members of the legislature voted on key issues affecting the business climate in Wisconsin.
The 2011-12 legislative session was historic in many ways. The upward spiral of spending and taxes was reversed;
the state’s long-term structural deficit was eliminated; a solid foundation for responsible budgeting in the future
was established and perhaps, most significantly, efforts to improve the state’s business climate took a quantum
leap forward. The legislature adopted sweeping legal reforms, comprehensive regulatory reforms and targeted
business tax cuts that will help put Wisconsin on a path to robust economic growth and job creation in the years
ahead.
The WMC lobbying team worked on 159 separate pieces of legislation during the session. Many of these bills
originated as recommendations from WMC members who serve on our various policy committees and were
developed by our in-house team of attorneys and policy experts.
Senate
Carpenter (D-3)
Coggs (D-6)
Cowles (R-2)
Cullen (D-15)
Darling (R-8)
Ellis (R-19)
Erpenbach (D-27)
Fitzgerald (R-13)
Galloway (R-29)
Assembly
26%
32%
96%
27%
100%
100%
27%
100%
96%
August (R-32)
96%
Ballweg (R-41)
100%
Barca (D-64)
30%
Berceau (D-76)
4%
Bernard-Schaber (D-57)25%
Bernier (R-68)
100%
Bewley (D-74)
22%
Bies (R-1)
100%
Billings (D-95)
40%
Brooks (R-50)
100%
Clark (D-42)
23%
Coggs (D-10)
22%
Craig (R-83)
91%
Cullen (D-13)
33%
Danou (D-91)
29%
Doyle (D-94)
35%
Endsley (R-26)
100%
Farrow (R-98)
100%
Fields (D-11)
17%
Fitzgerald (R-39)
100%
Grigsby (D-18)
6%
Hebl (D-46)
18%
Hintz (D-54)
29%
Honadel (R-21)
100%
Hulsey (D-77)
22%
Jacque (R-2)
96%
Jorgensen (D-37)
33%
Kapenga (R-33)
96%
Kaufert (R-55)
96%
Kerkman (R-66)
100%
6
The full report is
available on WMC’s
website, www.
wmc.org. Click on
Government Issues
& Policy at the top
of the homepage,
then click
Legislative Voting
Records.
Grothman (R-20)
Hansen (D-30)
Harsdorf (R-10)
Holperin (D-12)
Jauch (D-25)
Kedzie (R-11)
King (D-18)
Larson (D-7)
Lasee (R-1)
100%
35%
100%
39 %
22%
100%
45%
22%
100%
Lassa (D-24)
Lazich (R-28)
Leibham (R-9)
Miller (D-16)
Moulton (R-23)
Olsen (R-14)
Risser (D-26)
Schultz (R-17)
Shilling (D-32)
29%
100%
100%
22%
100%
100%
17%
88%
50%
Taylor (D-4)
Vinehout (D-31)
Vukmir (R-5)
Wanggaard (R-21)
Wirch (D-22)
Zipperer (R-33)
Kessler (D-12)
Kestell (R-27)
Kleefisch (R-38)
Klenke (R-88)
Knilans (R-44)
Knodl (R-24)
Knudson (R-30)
Kooyenga (R-14)
Kramer (R-97)
Krug (R-72)
Krusick (D-7)
Kuglitsch (R-84)
Larson (R-67)
LeMahieu (R-59)
Litjens (R-56)
Loudenbeck (R-45)
Marklein (R-51)
Mason (D-62)
Meyer (R-34)
Milroy (D-73)
Molepske (D-71)
Mursau (R-36)
Murtha (R-29)
Nass (R-31)
Nerison (R-96)
Nygren (R-89)
Ott, A. (R-3)
Ott, J. (R-23)
Pasch (D-22)
Petersen (R-40)
20%
100%
100%
100%
100%
96%
100%
100%
96%
100%
41%
100%
96%
100%
100%
100%
100%
24%
100%
28%
43%
100%
100%
96%
96%
100%
100%
96%
19%
96%
Petrowski (R-86)
Petryk (R-93)
Pocan (D-78)
Pope-Roberts (D-79)
Pridemore (R-99)
Radcliffe (D-92)
Richards (D-19)
Ringhand (D-80)
Ripp (R-47)
Rivard (R-75)
Roys (D-81)
Seidel (D-85)
Severson (R-28)
Sinicki (D-20)
Spanbauer (R-53)
Staskunas (D-15)
Steinbrink (D-65)
Steineke (R-5)
Stone (R-82)
Strachota (R-58)
Stroebel (R-60)
Suder (R-69)
Tauchen (R-6)
Taylor (D-48)
Thiesfeldt (R-52)
Tiffany (R-35) Toles (D-17)
Tranel (R-49)
Turner (D-61)
VanRoy (R-90)
100%
100%
14%
16%
96%
42%
21%
19%
100 %
100%
15%
26%
96%
32%
93%
40%
28%
100%
100%
100%
91%
100%
100%
29%
100%
100%
15%
96%
26%
100%
Vos (R-63)
Vruwink (D-70)
Weininger (R-4)
Williams (R-87)
Wynn (R-43)
Young (D-16)
Zimarripa (D-8)
Zepnick (D-9)
Ziegelbauer (I-25)
17%
30%
96%
100%
23%
96%
100%
41%
100%
100%
96%
30%
19%
26%
92%
WMC does not track
Congressional voting
records but the U.S.
Chamber does. Here is
the Wisconsin delegation’s
voting record from the
2011 Session of the 112th
Congress.
Ryan (R) – 100%
Baldwin (D) – 13%
Kind (D) – 31%
Moore (D) – 13%
Sensenbrenner (R) – 94%
Petri (R) – 94%
Duffy (R) – 100%
Ribble (R) – 100%
For more information visit
www.uschamber.com
Working for
Wisconsin Award
Winners
Senate
Rob Cowles-Green Bay
Alberta Darling-River Hills
Michael Ellis-Neenah
Scott Fitzgerald-Juneau
Pam Galloway-Wausau
Glenn Grothman-West Bend
Sheila Harsdorf-River Falls
Neal Kedzie-Elkhorn
Frank Lasee-DePere
Mary Lazich-New Berlin
Joe Leibham-Sheboygan
Terry Moulton-Chippewa Falls
Luther Olsen-Ripon
Dale Schultz-Richland Center
Leah Vukmir-Wauwatosa
Van Wanggaard-Racine
Rich Zipperer-Pewaukee
Assembly
Tyler August-Lake Geneva
Joan Ballweg-Markesan
Kathy Bernier-Chippewa Falls
Garey Bies-Sister Bay
Ed Brooks-Reedsburg
David Craig-Big Bend
Mike Endsley-Sheboygan
Paul Farrow-Pewaukee
Jeff Fitzgerald-Horicon
Mark Honadel-South Milwaukee
Andre Jacque-Bellevue
Chris Kapenga-Delafield
Dean Kaufert-Neenah
Samantha Kerkman-Powers Lake
Steve Kestell-Elkhart Lake
Joel Kleefisch-Oconomowoc
John Klenke-Green Bay
Joe Knilans-Janesville
Dan Knodl-Germantown
Dean Knudson-Hudson
Dale Kooyenga-Brookfield
Bill Kramer-Waukesha
Scott Krug-Wisconsin Rapids
Mike Kuglitsch-New Berlin
Tom Larson-Colfax
Dan LeMahieu-Cascade
Michelle Litjens-Oshkosh
Amy Loudenbeck-Clinton
Howard Marklein-Spring Green
Dan Meyer-Eagle River
Jeff Mursau-Crivitz
John Murtha-Baldwin
Stephen Nass-Whitewater
Lee Nerison-Westby
John Nygren-Marinette
Al Ott-Forest Junction
Jim Ott-Mequon
Kevin Petersen-Waupaca
Jerry Petrowski-Marathon
Warren Petryk-Eleva
Don Pridemore-Hartford
Keith Ripp-Lodi
Roger Rivard-Rice Lake
Erik Severson-Star Prairie
Dick Spanbauer-Oshkosh
Jim Steineke-Kaukauna
Jeff Stone-Greendale
Pat Strachota-West Bend
Duey Stroebel-Saukville
Scott Suder-Abbotsford
Gary Tauchen-Bonduel
Jeremy Thiesfeldt-Fond du Lac
Tom Tiffany-Hazelhurst
Travis Tranel-Cuba City
Karl Van Roy-Green Bay
Robin Vos-Burlington
Chad Weininger-Green Bay
Mary Williams-Medford
Evan Wynn-Whitewater
Bob Ziegelbauer-Manitowoc
E
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Changing the Dialogue
Selling Manufacturing One Conversation at a Time
By Jim Morgan, WMC Foundation President
careers and companies mean to
Wisconsin. And before the financial,
healthcare, energy, legal or transportation
industries get upset, I can make a pretty
strong argument that the citizenry is
at least aware that you exist and values
what you do. But manufacturing?
Not a clue.
W
hy do parents speak with
great pride about their 4-year
university-bound children, but when
discussing their technical college student
often precede the comment with “he’s
just attending tech school”?
Why do we only care about K-12 system
measurements that revolve around 4-year
institutions?
Why is there outrage if an advanced
placement course is cut, but silence as
many career and technical education
departments die on the vine?
Why do so many consider a job in
manufacturing not as “prestigious” as a
job in a cubicle?
Why aren’t we as concerned about
lifetime employment as we are about
lifetime education?
Why do we think the expectations
of students entering the Wisconsin
Technical College System are lower than
the University of Wisconsin System?
Why do so many value manufacturing
jobs… for someone else’s children?
I am guessing those questions hit a nerve
for anyone following the workforce
paradox in Wisconsin.
What has amazed me more than
anything else during the past 12 months
of preaching the value of manufacturing
and manufacturing jobs is the complete
lack of understanding of what these
8
In addressing the workforce paradox,
WMC and the WMC Foundation set
out a few goals 12 months ago:
• Raise the awareness of manufacturing
• Improve the image of manufacturing
• Challenge people’s perceptions of
manufacturing
• Celebrate the value of manufacturing
A quick summary of recent articles
covering WMC events and presentations
indicates we are making progress:
“Manufacturing is not a dirty word – nor
is it an industry for the uneducated.”
- Daily Tribune, Wisconsin Rapids
“Many parents saw factory jobs
disappearing from Rock County a few
years ago and became convinced that
manufacturing as a career path is dead.
On this Labor Day weekend, however,
we’re here to tell you that
notion is wrong.” - The
“To help close the skills gap, companies
across the state are adopting strategies
to get high school students interested in
manufacturing-related jobs.” - La Crosse
Tribune
Progress!
And now, October has been declared
“Manufacturing Month” and it will be
another opportunity to educate. That will
be followed by WMC Foundation-led
regional sessions offering solutions and
best practices to help local communities
continue to ensure they are providing
quality education and meeting the needs
of the workforce. The journey continues.
In the end, competitiveness is what
provides business with an advantage.
Wisconsin, Germany, Green Bay,
Illinois, China, Prairie du Chien –
everyone has a workforce problem. More
than any other issue, the country/state/
community that can offer workforce
solutions will win. My money is on
Wisconsin. BV
Follow Jim on Twitter @JimMorgan1960
Janesville Gazette
“Last year, 47 hourly
workers at Strohwig
Industries (each)
took home more than
$100,000.” - The
Reporter, Fond du Lac
“People don’t understand
we are still employing
430,000 in manufacturing
in this state.” - Green Bay
Press-Gazette
Employers, community leaders and educators gathered at WMC this
summer to discuss the workforce paradox.
Celebrate Manufacturing
Month in October
Celebrate
Manufacturing Month in October
Visit www.wimanufacturingmonth.org
Find resources available to manufacturers, community
leaders and elected officials
• Dates and locations of many tours and events happening
throughout the month
• Links to best practices from employers around the state
• Top 10 ways to get involved
• Toolkits for hosting tours
• Links to Youth Apprenticeship programs
Sign up today for the Manufacturing Month weekly
e-newsletter; email Jim Morgan at [email protected] and
place the word Newsletter in the subject line.
Time to Step Up to the Job-Skill
Challenge
By Todd A. Berry, President, Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance
R
eporters, business leaders, and
researchers – almost everyone
everywhere, both here and abroad –
seem surprised and understandably
troubled by the jobs-and-skills
mismatch. If there is a “hot” topic in
the public arena, this is it: Employers
complain they are unable to find
skilled workers despite stubbornly high
unemployment rates.
There is little need to review the problem
or recommended solutions; they’re
ubiquitous. Consulting firms and think
tanks have been cranking out reports
on the topic for years. Closer to home,
former Bucyrus Erie CEO Tim Sullivan
recently shared 125 pages of his thoughts
with the governor, and WMC staff have
been documenting the challenge.
Consensus on causes is broad,
disagreement coming only from a few
on the left who see higher wages as a
panacea. Factors usually cited include
demographic shifts, constant technical
progress, cultural and attitudinal biases,
poor or outdated market information,
and inertia in both education and
government.
What strikes me most about the skill
gap is that few think about it as a
permanent phenomenon. Yet, since
the industrial age began, we have lived
through economic cycles of jobs gained
and lost. Add technological change,
economic competition, the rigidity of
most societal institutions – and a dash
of human inertia – and you have a recipe
for recurring job-skill mismatch and
joblessness.
The only thing new and different about
today is the pace and intensity of change
and competition. Both are accelerating
and global – and far less forgiving.
Moore’s law first advanced almost
50 years ago predicted that transistor
performance would double every two
years, a prediction that has proved true
and applies to other forms of technology.
10
So, yes, we have a skill gap, and we
need to make big changes fast in public
education and training, cultural attitudes,
and business planning. But that is
not enough. We must institutionalize
processes that anticipate and
accommodate rapid, unceasing change –
and not just respond to it.
Unfortunately, prospects are not bright
for quick and wholesale change in state
government. The legislative branch
is near dysfunction. The executive
branch has no cabinet-level appointee
overseeing all education and training,
and the state superintendent has a bully
pulpit but little more.
The education sector is balkanized and
inherently conservative. K-12 education
continues to operate on a century-old
industrial model, and universities are
driven by siloed academic departments
rooted in medieval Europe. The focus
of technical colleges has been diffused,
some argue, by remediation, adult
enrichment, “mission creep,” and college
transfer programs.
Like it or not, Wisconsin employers
cannot afford to wait for government
and education. Working individually,
in industrial clusters, through trade
associations, and collaboratively with
the other sectors, they are going to have
to step up and drive the reform needed,
if we are to put in place processes that
anticipate and address the job-skill
paradox.
Profitability, growth, and shareholder
return depend on attracting and
maintaining a skilled workforce, and
that means business has to drive change.
Suggesting it is necessary but not
sufficient. Company time, money, and
effort are going to have to be spent in a
number of areas, including:
• Correcting rampant societal
misperception of manufacturing (and
the private sector in general);
• Providing families, journalists,
and educators with on-the-floor
knowledge of the advanced and
innovative nature of manufacturing
and production;
• Adjusting teacher, family, and
media preoccupation with four-year
degrees;
• Redesigning baccalaureate programs
(and the institutional structures
that go with them) to provide
interdisciplinary alternatives to
narrow majors by combining
essential liberal arts education with
technical or business competencies;
• Building new school-to-work
pathways that include, among others,
student “coop” learning, senioryear job experiences, and company
mentoring; and
• Creating and making permanent
private-private and private-public
consortia that assess and anticipate
technological change and predict
future skill needs.
More profound reforms could also be
pursued, including widespread adoption
of substantive apprenticeship alternatives
to traditional in-class education; in-plant
charter schools; or on-site, employersponsored certificate and degree
programs.
More far-reaching would be rethinking
the organization and financing of
postsecondary education. Imagine,
for example, some technical college
“districts” funded by payroll taxes or fees
with employers ultimately responsible
for program authorization and resource
allocation.
Needless to say, it’s time for everyone to
open their minds and get to work. BV
Todd A. Berry,
President, Wisconsin
Taxpayers Alliance.
He can be reached at
(608) 241-9789
Employers to Continue Healthcare
Reform Implementation as Usual
By John Barlament & Alexis Backs, Quarles & Brady LLP
O
n June 29, 2012, in a 5-4 decision,
the U.S. Supreme Court upheld
the healthcare reform law’s “individual
mandate,” which requires almost all
U.S. citizens to have health insurance
by January 1, 2014 or pay a penalty.
The main opinion was written by Chief
Justice John Roberts, who began by
stating that the individual mandate
exceeds Congress’s power to regulate
commerce under the Commerce Clause.
While four other Justices agreed with
that conclusion, which would constitute
a majority, a different majority upheld
the individual mandate based on an
independent ground - the government’s
backup argument - that is, the mandate
is within the taxing power of Congress.
No matter how the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act’s (ACA)
individual mandate passed constitutional
muster, the end result for employers is
the same. The Supreme Court’s decision
provides clarity for employers and their
group health plans. Because the Court
found the individual mandate to be
constitutional, the entire ACA stands
with respect to employers and their
health plans. As a result, employers (or
other plan sponsors) should expect ACA
implementation efforts to continue as
usual.
There are a number of near-term ACA
requirements that employers must now
focus on, including the requirements to:
• provide coverage for additional
preventive services (effective for
plan years beginning on or after
August 1, 2012);
12
• issue a summary of benefits
and coverage (SBC), usually in
connection with this year’s open
enrollment;
• address medical loss ratio (MLR)
issues; and
• comply with new Form W-2
reporting requirements for the 2012
plan year (i.e., W-2s distributed in
January 2013).
Provisions of the ACA already in
operation (such as coverage for adult
dependents up to age 26, the prohibition
on rescissions, limits on pre-existing
condition exclusions and prohibition
on lifetime limits for essential benefits)
remain in effect.
The SBC requirement is considered
by many employers to be one of the
most administratively burdensome
requirements imposed by the ACA.
Final government regulations require
employers and group health plans
to provide a standardized, easy-tounderstand SBC along with a uniform
glossary of coverage terms to all plan
participants.
The W-2 requirement under the ACA
provides that the value of the applicable
employer-sponsored coverage be
reported on employees’ Forms W-2. This
is a reporting requirement only; it does
not affect employees’ tax liability.
Employers should also monitor future
government guidance on a number of
as-yet-unanswered questions regarding
certain provisions of the ACA, including
quality of care reporting, automatic
enrollment and new nondiscrimination
rules for fully insured health plans.
Employers should also start considering
the other ACA provisions taking effect
in 2013 and later, such as the “pay or
play” rules. The ACA requires certain
large employers to provide health plan
coverage to their employees or else pay
a penalty tax to the federal government.
There are several requirements that
must be satisfied by the employer in
order to ensure that the penalty tax is
avoided. Now is the time to consider
these impending requirements and begin
developing a strategy for compliance.
For a complete overview of the ACA’s
requirements for employers and their
health plans (whether self-funded or
fully-insured), including the effective
date of each provision, please visit www.
quarles.com/health_care_reform_
summary_2012 and click on the
Healthcare Reform Summary PDF at
the top of the webpage. BV
John Barlament is a
Partner with Quarles
& Brady LLP. He can
be reached at john.
[email protected]
or (414) 277-5727.
Alexis Backs is an
Associate with Quarles &
Brady LLP. She can be
reached at alexis.backs@
quarles.com or (312)
715-5145.
S
E
X
TALooming Federal Tax Increases
By Jason Culotta, WMC Director of Tax & Transportation Policy
Estate Tax (Death Tax)
Currently, only estates worth more than
$5 million are subject to a 35 percent
tax. After January 1, estates valued at $1
million or more will be subject to the tax
with the rate increasing to 55 percent.
The tax disproportionately affects family
businesses that pass ownership through
the generations.
Investment Income Taxes
A
t the end of this year, a number of
federal tax changes will lead to a
much greater tax burden for American
taxpayers and businesses.
Tax reductions and credits adopted
under President George W. Bush are
expiring in December. Other new taxes
created under the Affordable Care Act
take effect in January.
How the federal government responds
to this crisis depends on the outcome
of the November elections. If President
Obama is re-elected, look to see
congressional action during the lame
duck session of Congress before January,
as the number of Senate Democrats is
expected to decline in the new Congress.
If Governor Romney prevails, expect
congressional Republicans to enact tax
relief early in 2013.
Absent federal action, the major
upcoming tax changes include:
Individual Income Tax
Though all tax brackets will see increases,
the top rate for those earning at least
$200,000 or married couples earning
at least $250,000 will increase to
40.5 percent from 35 percent. Many
businesses are organized as pass-through
entities, meaning the tax liability is
passed onto individual shareholders
rather than the corporation. In other
words, if a shareholder of a company
earns more than $200,000 from the
company, the shareholder is responsible
for paying the 40.5 percent tax rate.
Taxes on capital gains and dividends
will increase from the current 15 percent
top rate to 23.8 percent and 43.3
percent, respectively. These taxes are
assessed on income that has already been
subject to the income tax. The negative
implications for investors, including
retirees, are significant.
determines tax liability under a second
tax system; the taxpayer pays the higher
of the two amounts. Not adjusted for
inflation, the AMT is routinely limited
by Congress to prevent the tax from
applying to a broader group of taxpayers.
Without retroactive action by Congress,
more than 30 million taxpayers will be
affected by this provision for the 2012
tax year.
Corporate Income Tax
The current federal rate is 35 percent.
Since Japan lowered its rate in April,
the United States now has the highest
corporate income tax rate in the
industrialized world. Some businesses
subject to this tax have moved operations
abroad to take advantage of lower rates.
The collective impact of these and
other tax increases will be around $500
Provisions like the Section 179 expense
billion for 2013 alone. The economy
deduction, which benefits
will struggle much more
small business, and
if Congress and the
The United States
bonus depreciation
President fail to take
will end. The
action.
now has the highest
research and
corporate income tax rate in Our national
development
leaders have the
tax credit already
the industrialized world. difficult task of
expired in 2011.
maintaining a reasonable
Many Wisconsin firms
tax structure that encourages growth
benefit from these provisions which will
while addressing the trillion-dollar
no longer be available.
annual budget deficits at the federal
level. You can see that our federal
Alternative Minimum Tax
policymakers have their work cut out for
The AMT was established to prevent
them. BV
wealthy taxpayers from avoiding
taxation under the normal tax structure.
Follow Jason on Twitter @JGCulotta
The original “Buffet Rule,” if you will,
Business Tax Incentives
Jason Culotta
works with
WMC’s Tax
Committee on
issues relating
to tax policy
and how it will
affect Wisconsin
businesses.
Wisconsin Business Voice
13
Y
G
R
ENE
A Collision Course for
Higher Energy Prices
Attend WMC’s Upcoming Program
Decision 2012: EPA Trainwreck
October 24, 2012 • 7:00 am, $35/person
Visit www.wmc.org or call (608) 258-3400 for
more information and to register.
By Scott Manley, WMC Director of Environmental & Energy Policy
I
n 2008, presidential candidate
Barack Obama promised to
bankrupt the coal industry, stating
“if somebody wants to build a coalpowered plant, they can. It’s just that
it will bankrupt them because they’re
going to be charged a huge sum for
all that greenhouse gas that’s being
emitted.”
Candidate Obama also stated that
“electricity rates would necessarily
skyrocket” under his cap-and-trade
global warming legislation because power plants would pay a
considerable amount to comply with the emission rationing plan.
Although Congress ultimately rejected his cap-and-trade
legislation, President Obama appears intent on keeping his
campaign promise to bankrupt coal through the imposition of
costly regulations from his Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).
The EPA recently embarked on an aggressive crusade to
implement new rules targeting coal-fired power plants, and
manufacturers with coal-fired boilers. These oppressive regulations
will dramatically increase the cost of energy, diminish the
reliability of our power grid, weaken our manufacturing sector and
threaten the very existence of certain manufacturing facilities.
Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). This proposal would
impose stringent air pollution regulations on coal-fired power
plants in 28 states, including Wisconsin. The rule is projected
to cost $120 billion by the year 2015. WMC and a coalition of
national business groups successfully challenged this rule, and it
was recently overturned by a federal court. However, the EPA is
likely to write a replacement rule.
Utility MACT. This rule establishes first-ever maximum
achievable control technology (MACT) standards, regulating
mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, and is expected
to cost up to $358 billion. The EPA estimates the rule will provide
$500,000 and $6 million in public health benefits each year – far
less than the cost of the rule. A recent study suggested that the
CSAPR and Utility MACT rule together would increase electric
rates in Wisconsin by 21.7 percent by 2016.
Boiler MACT. Industrial boilers burning coal are the target
of this rule, which is projected to cost more than $100 billion,
and result in 800,000 lost manufacturing jobs nationwide. In
Wisconsin, the rule is expected to cost manufacturers $680
million, result in the potential closure of 11 paper mills, and the
loss of 7,500 papermaking jobs.
Utility Greenhouse Gas Standards. The EPA has proposed New
Source Performance Standards for power plants that set carbon
dioxide limits sufficiently low that it would be virtually impossible
to construct a coal fired power plant in the future. With nearly
500 years of mineable coal in the United States,
Known as the “EPA Train Wreck,” the rash of new rules
the decision to cut ourselves off from this
is a frontal assault on the use of coal as an abundant
Our state uses coal
abundant and affordable source of energy
and affordable form of energy. The cascading cost
to
generate
roughly
65
will drive up costs and make us less
impacts of the EPA rules are likely to render coal
percent of our electricity, so competitive.
economically infeasible, and in some instances,
may prohibit the construction of coal-fired power
plants in the future.
the high cost of the Obama Everyone, including businesses, wants
clean air. The good news is that our
Administration’s anti-coal air is much healthier today than it was
campaign will hit our state even ten years ago. Nationally, the EPA
reports that air pollution has been reduced
especially hard. by nearly 70 percent since 1970. Here in
Regulating our way to higher energy prices will
spell trouble for our nation’s manufacturing sector,
but the EPA rules will have a disproportionately
painful impact here in Wisconsin. Our state uses coal to
generate roughly 65 percent of our electricity, so the high cost of
the Obama Administration’s anti-coal campaign will hit our state
especially hard.
Wisconsin also has the second most manufacturing intensive
economy per capita in the United States. So we are home to a
much higher concentration of the types of businesses that are
targeted directly by the regulations, or will pay more indirectly
through higher electric rates.
How much will the “Train Wreck” rules actually cost? A number
of studies have attempted to estimate the cost of these rules.
Following is a summary of those cost estimates.
14
Wisconsin, historic pollution reductions have led
to removal of the Milwaukee area from the ozone nonattainment
designation.
Given the tremendous progress already made toward cleaner air,
the obvious question is why is the EPA now moving forward
with such costly and economically destructive air pollution rules?
The answer lies in the President’s failure to enact cap-and-trade
legislation – he is instead waging a war against coal and other
fossil fuels through EPA regulations. We as consumers will
ultimately pay the price. BV
Follow Scott on Twitter @ManleyWMC
Launching Youth with Disabilities
into the Workplace
T
ailored Label Products (TLP)
co-owner Todd Bence looks
for passionate, hard-working, and
motivated people to work at his
80-person manufacturing operation in
Menomonee Falls. Seven years ago, he
hired Patrick Young when Patrick was
16 years old. Today, Todd considers
Patrick the “absolute spirit” of the
company.
“He’s been a mainstay, increased
productivity, and has been a perfect fit
for our company,” says Todd, who met
Patrick the same way many employers
meet good recruits: by networking.
When Patrick was in high school, he
and his father were part of a church
mission group that included Todd
and his son. Todd’s son was instantly
impressed by Patrick’s energy, work ethic,
and willingness to support and nurture
others. “My son said, ‘Dad, you should
meet this kid. He’s absolutely amazing,”
Bence recalls. “He told me story after
story about how compassionate he was,
Wisconsin BPDD is spearheading
a statewide project, “Let’s Get to
Work,” that focuses on getting youth
with disabilities into paid employment
while they are still in high school.
Participating school districts include:
Oconomowoc, Manitowoc, Grafton,
Holmen, Kewaunee County schools,
Rhinelander, West Allis, Stoughton,
and New Auburn.
If your business wants more
information on hiring youth or young
adults with disabilities, contact Let’s
Get to Work Project Coordinator
Jennifer Neugart at (608) 261-7528
or [email protected] or
visit the Let’s Get to Work website
www.letsgettoworkwi.org.
16
what a hard working kid he is, and how
he really wants to make a difference in
people’s lives. Then he said, ‘And by the
way, he has Down Syndrome.’ ”
After watching Patrick at work, Todd
didn’t hesitate. He approached Patrick’s
dad about offering Patrick a part-time
job. Patrick submitted his resume and
went in for a formal interview, then
completed OSHA training as required
for his position. TLP adapted the
training by showing Patrick the tasks
instead of just having him read a manual.
They also provided formal job training
for several weeks so that Patrick could
learn – and master – the tasks at his new
job.
As his sophomore year of high school
began, Patrick worked three afternoons
a week after school, starting at $3 above
the minimum wage. Seven years later,
he works four days a week and has had
five wage increases. He also has learned
others’ jobs, and is a frequent substitute
in other units at TLP.
“What I love most about my job is
working with all the different people in
the company and all the friends I have
made at the company social events and
things like our United Way campaign,”
Patrick says. “I am proud that I hold
the record for making the most boxes in
the company for a 3 three hour shift - I
made 800 boxes.”
Patrick’s co-workers say he typically
performs at twice the rate of his coworkers, and many seasoned employees
have tried to beat his record. Patrick’s
supervisor Felicia Tyler says, “Patrick’s
eye for detail and perfection in box
making allows our press to have the
necessary material for maximum output.
His attendance is an inspiration to those
who work with him.” Todd agrees: hiring
Patrick was good for business.
That’s a message Patrick and TLP want
to share with others. Patrick is a member
of the Wisconsin Board for People with
Developmental Disabilities (BPDD),
a statewide organization that promotes
competitive employment for people with
significant disabilities.
“Integrated employment for people
with disabilities is a good investment
for companies because it will create
more local jobs for people who will
contribute to the
community,” Patrick says.
“Policymakers should
understand that hiring
people with disabilities
is investing in our
(Wisconsin) communities
and will help local
businesses because people
with disabilities have
good work skills. My job
at TLP is an example
of how a company can
benefit in many ways
when we are empowered
to work.” BV
Take Your Legislator to Work
O
ctober is National Disability
Employment Awareness Month.
To recognize and promote the
remarkable contributions people with
disabilities make in the workplace,
the Wisconsin Board for People with
Developmental Disabilities launched
the Take Your Legislator to Work
Campaign in October 2011.
During the campaign, more than 40
Wisconsin legislators visited constituents
with disabilities who have competitivewage jobs in the community. Through
the visits, legislators witnessed first-hand
the benefits of integrated work, not
just for people with disabilities, but for
employers, as well. Culver’s, Wal-Mart,
Walgreens, and many small businesses
across Wisconsin participated in last
year’s campaign.
Patrick Young of
Tailored Label Products
in Menomonee Falls
participated in one of
those 40-plus visits.
Patrick fulfills an
important role at TLP,
where Nicole Richard,
Human Resource
Manager, said, “‘Passion
for Innovation’ is our
motto and Patrick
certainly personifies that.
He is passionate about the
work he does, he is eager
to take on new tasks, and
he motivates those around
him.”
Patrick’s representative – Dan Knodl
of Germantown– visited him at TLP
to learn more about his job. Patrick
not only showcased his skills, but also
discussed how his job allows him to
be independent and contribute to
government programs, rather than
relying on them for assistance. In his
Legislative e-Update, Rep. Knodl
highlighted his visit with Patrick
and mentioned that “people with
disabilities are valuable employees with
essential skills who enhance the work
environment for everyone.”
People with disabilities are significant
contributors to businesses all across the
state. At the same time, there are also
many people with disabilities who aren’t
working for competitive wages but want
to.
This October, BPDD will continue its
Take Your Legislator to Work effort to
educate policymakers and the general
public about the importance of paid
employment for people with disabilities.
If your business wants to get involved,
contact Joshua Ryf at (608) 261-7829 or
[email protected] or visit
www.wi-bpdd.org. BV
Top: TLP Co-owner Todd Bence, left, with Patrick and Patricks’ supervisor, Felicia Tyler. Left: Patrick works on boxes at
Tailored Label Products in Menomonee Falls. Center and Right: Patrick with Representative Dan Knodl (R-Germantown)
during Take Your Legislator to Work Day.
Wisconsin Business Voice
17
T
L
A
E
H
18
R
A
C
H
T
Getting a Grip on HealthCare
By Mark Crawford
M
ore than 2,000 pages make
up the Affordable Care Act
(ACA), a highly complex bill that has
HR departments across the country
struggling to understand its full
ramifications. The ACA has put into
motion on a national level some aspects
of what Wisconsin began experimenting
with years ago. That’s when in-state
providers and consumers realized the
present fee-for-service system was
unsustainable and started working
together to improve quality of care and
reduce costs, with fair compensation for
high-quality patient outcomes.
The goal of payment reform is to transition
from a model that pays providers for
volume to a model that pays for improved
quality of care. The current fee-forservice model is simply too expensive.
“Healthcare costs should be about 40-50
percent less than what they are today,” says
James Riordan, president and CEO of
Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance
Corporation in Madison.
Payment reform can be in the form of
accountable care organizations (ACOs),
medical homes, bundled payments,
pay for performance, and other unique
arrangements. All these approaches share
the same goal of improving care, reducing
costs, and providing fair compensation to
providers.
Two of the most promising reform
models outlined in the ACA are ACOs
and medical homes. ACOs can have
multiple structures, such as a group of
doctors, doctors and hospitals, hospitals
and insurers, doctors and community
clinics, etc. These providers manage the
care of a specific population of patients by
teaming up to deliver better coordinated
patient care at lower costs. They also agree
to take the financial risk for improving
performance – if they delivery better care
at a lower cost they will earn more money.
A key strategy within the ACO is the
concept of the patient-centered “medical
home.” This typically consists of a team
of clinicians (not just the primary care
physician) that plans and coordinates the
routine care of patients, especially those
with chronic illnesses.
“The Pioneer ACO is the first of these
structures recognized by Medicare,” says
John Toussaint, MD and President/CEO
of ThedaCare in Appleton. “ThedaCare
and Bellin are participating in this ACO.
It is a direct contract with the Center for
Medicare Innovation
in
Washington
D.C.
whereby
all the Medicare “The most successful employers
beneficiaries cared will be targeting obesity, which
for by both these
is now more of a cost issue to the
organizations
are
pooled together as a average employer than smoking.”
population. Part of
the overall payment
to these provider organizations is based
on improving the cost and quality of
services year over year.”
The ACO concept is still being developed
– there is no guidebook to follow.
“In Wisconsin we are especially wellpositioned to implement payment reform
because we have several groups, such as
Bellin and ThedaCare in northeastern
Wisconsin and Dean and St. Mary’s in
the south-central region, that have been
essentially functioning as ACOs for
several years,” says Christopher Queram,
president and CEO of the Wisconsin
Collaborative for Healthcare Quality
(WCHQ) in Middleton. “They have
been proactive in aligning their incentives
to provide the highest possible care at
lowest possible cost.”
Wisconsin Business Voice
19
Payment Reform in Action
The idea behind payment reform is the creation of better
incentives that motivate healthcare providers to deliver the best
quality in the most cost-effective manner, as well as incentives
for consumers to choose cost-effective, high-quality care.
ACOs and medical homes are models designed to incent this
kind of care.
The toughest part of payment reform for employers will be
redesigning benefit plans and educating employees about
the necessity of taking personal responsibility for purchasing
healthcare services. “According to a recent survey most
employees are on ‘autopilot’ when it comes to health care,
largely choosing the same plans and providers year over year,”
says Karen Timberlake, director of University of Wisconsin’s
Population Health Institute in Madison.
From an insurance perspective, the largest difficulty is that
systems have been developed and refined for the current feefor-service environment. Many payment reform models are
only in their pilot stages; as providers and insurers discover
which models deliver the greatest value they will become
automated and more widely available.
Payment reform runs along a continuum, from efforts that are
still based on fee-for-service reimbursement, such as “pay-forperformance” incentives, to paying one, risk-adjusted rate for
all the care of an entire population of patients.
The Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO),
a group of healthcare providers, health insurers and employer
representatives, assembled in 2010 to design a set of payment
reform projects.
“The goal of this effort, now known as the Partnership for
Healthcare Payment Reform, is to move toward value-based
reimbursement by testing alternative methods of payments,”
says Timberlake. “This work is also designed to involve several
commercial insurers in a common reimbursement strategy, to
increase the clarity of signals sent to provider organizations.”
Two sets of pilot projects have been established: a bundled
payment for total knee replacement and a shared savings
project for patients with diabetes. The bundled payment project
involves a flat-rate payment for all the care for commercially
insured adults receiving a total knee replacement; the diabetes
project involves a set of typical services for patients with
diabetes and certain common co-morbid conditions (comorbidity refers to a disease or other pathological process
that occurs simultaneously with another.) Both projects are
designed to be implemented in fully insured or self-insured
environments and include clear quality metrics that will be
tracked and publicly reported.
Establishing Best Practices
The first step is getting employees off “autopilot” so they can
take more active roles in managing their health, especially
chronic diseases. This can include workplace wellness
programs, full access to primary care and community health
improvements efforts like bike paths.
20
“The most successful employers will be targeting obesity,
which is now more of a cost issue to the average employer
than smoking,” says Riordan. “It’s difficult to imagine making
a favorable, long-term impact on employer healthcare costs
without moving the needle on employee obesity. Even if
employers are unwilling to get into the lives of their employees,
they can change things like cafeteria offerings, provide physical
fitness options, or reward employees who are within normal
weight ranges.”
Some larger employers have made huge reductions in their
healthcare costs by implementing on-site clinics. These
typically focus on primary care and fit the model of the
medical home. “One example is Serigraph in West Bend,” says
Riordan. “The consumer-oriented model that chairman John
Torinus has implemented started well before healthcare reform
got moving and is highly effective.”
“Our annual per-employee cost of healthcare is $9,000, which
is about 40 percent below the national average of $15,000 per
year,” says Torinus, the former CEO and current Chairman of
the Board for Serigraph Inc. The benchmark for best practices,
he notes, is $7,500-$9,000 per year.
Torinus indicates the biggest savings come from three reform
strategies:
• Consumer-driven health plans that reduce the cost of
health care by 20-30 percent – when employees pay more
they are more likely to take care of themselves
• Value-based purchasing of healthcare services based on
results, price and service – the best vendors have already
driven out waste through lean initiatives and quality
improvements
• On-site primary care facilities – “This is the best way to
manage the 80/20 rule,” says Torinus. “Eighty percent of
healthcare cost is spent on 20 percent of the population,
which usually has multiple chronic conditions.”
The greatest results – for companies with a sufficient number
of employees to be self-insured – will be realized through a
highly capable medical partner that works with them to share
risk and accountability.
“A company should carefully examine any prospective partner’s
ability to deliver coordinated care, electronic medical records,
and methods that measure quality,” indicates Jeff Thompson,
MD and CEO for Gundersen Lutheran Health System in
La Crosse. “If the partner has a well-run, integrated system and
establishes an on-site clinic, a business can save 25 percent or
more on healthcare costs.”
The healthcare field is rapidly evolving and, with the passage of
the ACA, has never been more complex. It is therefore critical
for companies to innovate and be proactive to stay ahead of
the curve. Serigraph, for example, will soon make health-risk
assessments mandatory for employees and their spouses. “We
also plan to develop individual three-year health plans signed
by the employees and the provider,” says Torinus. “This enables
us to also use health-risk assessments as management tools.”
Parting Thoughts
ACOs have the broad goal of managing entire populations
within an integrated system of hospitals and physicians.
Riordan cautions that many providers are looking at forming
ACOs, but it’s not an easy process. “Success involves a
tremendous commitment of resources from both personnel and
technology,” says Riordan. “I wouldn’t look for an immediate
drop in costs, but more of a moderation of the existing
healthcare trend. Over time a moderated trend can compound
into significant savings.”
“The key to controlling healthcare costs is delivering the
appropriate care, at the right time and place,” says Eric
Borgerding, Executive Vice President for the Wisconsin
Hospital Association in Madison. “This often means keeping
employees out of costly healthcare settings. To accomplish
this, business leaders must have access to good data to make
informed decisions from sources like WHIO and WCHQ.”
Queram agrees that good data is essential for building sound
market-oriented models.
“Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality is part of
this equation,” he says. “We collect and report on data from
physician groups regarding clinical quality. We use a variety of
clinically relevant metrics and make this information available
online to help customers choose providers, help providers
benchmark their performance and improve their practices and
outcomes, and help payers create better payment models.”
Data as far back as 2004 is available on the WCHQ website
(www.wchq), but is not consumer-friendly, notes Queram.
“Another website, www.wisconsinhealthreports.org, repackages
this data into narrative stories, which are easier to understand
and can lead interested readers to the main database.”
Torinus emphasizes that companies must develop new business
models that include self-insurance and on-site primary care.
“A mid-size company that has done very little regarding cost
controls will need about three years to complete a set of at least
a dozen best practices,” he says.
Wisconsin is consistently ranked as one of the top five states in
the country for high-quality care.
“This is because we believe in staying ahead of the curve,” says
Borgerding. “We knew payment reform was on the way before
it was proposed by the Obama Administration. Healthcare
costs are a key part of total labor cost for many businesses.
A state that does a good job of moderating healthcare costs,
and focusing on providing better value for healthcare dollars,
should have a competitive edge when it comes to attracting
new business operations or expansions, compared to other
states. Wisconsin plans to remain a leader in delivering
innovative solutions for healthcare that make Wisconsin
businesses more competitive in the global marketplace.” BV
Crawford is a Madison-based freelance writer.
Wisconsin Business Voice
21
New “In Wisconsin” Marketing
Initiative Champions the State’s
Business Climate
By Paul Jadin, CEO/Secretary of Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
I
n the past year, since the legislature
formed the Wisconsin Economic
Development Corporation, we’ve made
numerous positive changes to drive
business growth in Wisconsin. These
include changes to tax and litigation
regulations and valuable incentives for
businesses to relocate to our state and
create jobs through expansion. We’re
also working with legislators to develop
a state-supported capital investment
program that will help entrepreneurs
turn their ideas into profitable business
ventures.
Business leaders around the country have
taken note. We recently jumped to 20th
place in CEO Magazine’s prestigious
business climate ranking and moved up
to 17th place in CNBC’s top states for
business. And statewide, we’ve seen a
renewed interest among business leaders
to move forward with growth and
expansion plans.
Now, we’re embarking
upon a comprehensive
initiative to brand
Wisconsin’s business
climate to create
awareness among
business leaders
of the benefits of
starting, growing or
expanding a business in
Wisconsin. In essence, our
goal is to align the perception
of Wisconsin’s business climate with
our new reality.
Our brand, “In Wisconsin,” highlights
what makes Wisconsin a great state
in which to do business. Namely: a
culture of independence, innovation
and discovery; a prime location in
terms of infrastructure and low business
costs; and, leadership in numerous
industry sectors with worldwide market
22
prominence. Of course, key on that list is
manufacturing in many industry classes,
including industrial manufacturing,
water-related products and systems,
food production and processing, and
bio-science and healthcare equipment.
Wisconsin has always led the way in
manufacturing and continues to rank at
the top, and through the “In Wisconsin”
brand we will embrace and celebrate that
proud heritage.
To tell the story of Wisconsin’s business
climate, we secured the support and
participation of world-class Wisconsin
companies that have excelled in
their industries with innovation and
leadership. These include: Rockwell
Automation, which began in Milwaukee
as Allen-Bradley and is leading the
age of smart manufacturing; Organic
Valley, which started in 1988 with seven
farmers in LaFarge and is now
the leading producer
of organic products
in the country;
and Schneider
National, formed
in 1935 in
Green Bay by
Al Schneider,
who sold his
family car and
bought one truck.
These companies
were chosen based
on a variety of criteria,
most importantly that they share the
drive, spirit and innovation it takes to
go from idea to global business. Other
companies will join us in future phases
of this campaign in order to highlight
additional Wisconsin economic
strengths.
The “In Wisconsin” campaign includes
print, web and billboard advertising
targeted to reach business owners in
Wisconsin and neighboring states.
We’re developing a robust new
website to serve as a “one stop shop”
for businesses seeking information
and materials targeted at specific
audiences like site selectors. We’re also
boosting our visibility efforts through
numerous channels and working in
close collaboration with our statewide
economic development partners.
Our goal is to increase awareness of
Wisconsin as a premier state to do
business. Success measures include
continued improvement of our state’s
ranking in business climate surveys
and our ability to fill the pipeline of
economic development projects. Of
course, our ultimate success measure is
a strong, vibrant economic climate that
supports business start-up, retention,
expansion, and attraction in Wisconsin.
I can’t think of a better time to promote
Wisconsin’s diverse, expanding business
environment. We look forward to
continuing to partner with organizations
like WMC, which shares similar goals.
Strong business grows In Wisconsin. BV
Paul Jadin is CEO/
Secretary of Wisconsin
Economic Development
Corporation. Visit
www.wedc.org for more
information. Jadin will
become President of
Thrive this November.
WMC in the News –
On Workforce
“Right now there are shortages of engineers,
welders, CNC operators, machinists and
masons. Some of those require work
experience, some apprenticeships, some
technical degrees, some four-year degrees or
more. Let’s make sure everyone knows the
market, because the market will drive us to
success.”
– Jim Morgan, WMC Foundation President,
Janesville Gazette, August 26, 2012
On the Economy
“I think we have a bipolar economy.”
– Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President/CEO,
Green Bay Press Gazette, July 29, 2012
On Mining
“The United States has more than $6 trillion
worth of untapped minerals waiting to be
mined. Advances in mining technology
allow valuable minerals to be mined in an
environmentally responsible manner while
providing family-supporting jobs – leaving
the anti-mining crowd with no rational basis
to oppose mining investment projects.”
– Scott Manley, WMC Director of
Environmental & Energy Policy, Heartlander,
Published by The Heartland Institute,
July 6, 2012
On Healthcare
“It is similar to a business in a hurricane
zone preparing for a forecasted storm
that may or may not hit. Pragmatism and
prudence dictates that you prepare for the
worst-case scenario, just in case.”
– Rebecca Hogan, WMC Director of Health &
Human Resources Policy, The Business Journal
Serving Greater Milwaukee, September 14, 2012
Helping Wisconsin
Manufacturers Compete
for Over 50 Years
Wisconsin Owned and Operated
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www.engman-taylor.com
W142 N9351 Fountain Blvd.
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Three manufacturing-focused events coming to Milwaukee
Celebrating 25 Ye
Manufacturing Matters!
Conference
ars!
Manufacturer of the
Year Awards
Focus on Manufacturing
Breakfast
February 28, 2013
The Pfister Hotel
February 27-28, 2013
Now seeking nominations!
www.manufacturingmatters.org
The Pfister Hotel
Hyatt Hotel
www.wimoty.com
Friday, March 1, 2013
www.wmc.org/events/focus-onmanufacturing-breakfast/
Wisconsin Business Voice
23
C
S
I
W
N
I
E
D
A
M
Made In Wisconsin
L
ast month we highlighted K&B Innovations, makers of Shrinky Dinks; Mathews Solocam bows; St. Croix fishing rods, and
Silver Spring horseradish. This week we’re introducing you to…
Schaefer Brush Manufacturing
Family-owned and proud to call
Wisconsin home since 1905,
Schaefer Brush in Waukesha is
a one of the most diverse brush
manufacturers in the world.
The craftsmanship and skills of their 56 employees help them
specialize in all types of brushes including twisted-in-wire
brushes, cylinder, belt, staple-set, hand drawn and metal-back
strip to name a few. Schaefer Brush supplies 1,200 companies
across the United States and the world in diverse industries
such as foundries, mining, automotive, construction, plumbing,
HVAC, maintenance, and many more. Andrew Schaefer
founded Schaefer Brush, originally supplying brushes to the
entire brewing industry from a small building on south 2nd
street in Milwaukee. Harold Schaefer, the fourth generation
owner, runs the company today. The dedicated employees pride
themselves in providing every one of their customers with the
highest level of service in the industry.
www.schaeferbrush.com
Berntsen International, Inc.
Berntsen International, Inc.,
Madison, has been “Marking
the Infrastructure of the World”
for over 40 years as a leading
manufacturer of marking and identification products for land
surveying, utilities and construction. Berntsen is a privately
held, family business owned and operated by Rhonda Rushing
whose father, Phil Peterson, co-founded the business in
1972. Today, Berntsen’s
customized survey
products can be seen
worldwide – from Walt
Disney World, to the top
of Mt. McKinley, to the
Nile River.
Innovation has marked
Berntsen’s history and
continues with the recent
launching of the new Berntsen Inframarker RFID (Radio
Frequency Identification) system for location, verification and
documentation of underground assets such as utilities.
www.berntsen.com
24
Carma Laboratories, Inc.
We’ve all used Carmex from the little jar with the familiar
yellow cap. But did you know it’s made right in Frankiln,
Wisconsin? Alfred Woelbing was a buyer at a Chicago
department store back in 1937, but he didn’t much like
working in the big city. So he began his own business, making
silver polish in the basement of his home in Wauwatosa,
Wisconsin. Always curious, always inventive, Alfred then
decided to create a home remedy for a pesky condition that
he’d often suffered: cold sores. After much experimentation
over a hot plate, Alfred created Carmex, and then proceeded
to sell it to pharmacies by going door to door. It wasn’t long
before Alfred’s home-based business was booming. Apart
from a wartime hiatus in production due to lanolin rationing,
Alfred’s company—now
known as Carma Labs—grew
steadily. Now Carma Labs is
managed by Alfred’s grandsons
Paul and Eric Woelbing. This
new generation of Woelbings
has overseen several major
innovations, including the
introduction of new lip balm
flavors; a lip balm line for
women, Carmex Moisture
Plus™ ultra hydrating lip balm;
and a line of Carmex skin care products.
www.mycarmex.com
Contact Katy Pettersen, [email protected] if you are
interested in having your product featured in Wisconsin
Business Voice.
E
R
A
C
H
ALT
HE
Wisconsin Can Lead the Way for
Healthcare Reform
By Rebecca Hogan, WMC Director of Health & Human Resources Policy
little to contain healthcare costs. Most
businesses, before the passage of the
federal health law, agreed that national
reform was needed. The skyrocketing
costs were not sustainable. The ACA is
not the reform businesses bargained for.
E
ver since the Federal Supreme
Court’s ruling in June on the
Affordable Care Act (ACA), I have
been working alongside our members
to figure out what compliance with the
upheld law entails.
With over 2,000 pages in the bill,
thousands of additional pages of federal
guidance – some not yet released –
employers, and in particular human
resources departments, have spent their
fair share of time and resources trying to
keep up.
This summer, WMC hosted both a
healthcare webinar and an in-person
seminar to discuss compliance with
the Affordable Care Act in 2012
and beyond. Good attendances and
numerous questions at both these events
make it easy to conclude that this law is
nothing less than complicated.
Never mind the law’s trillion-dollar
plus price tag, the continual increase in
healthcare costs, the 20 new tax increases
(that’s the latest number I have), and the
political rhetoric. Employers have little
time to get tied up in the talking points;
they will do what is right and comply
with the law.
From a policy perspective I hope
people will start to acknowledge that
this reform, at least so far, has done
All across the country, no matter the
industry, people are wrestling with the
new regulations, but in Wisconsin, we
are subsidizing the law. That is because
Wisconsin already had in place many
of the provisions the federal law now
requires. Things like:
• Dependent coverage to age 26 (we
were once to age 27!)
• Required coverage of contraceptives
• Required direct access to OB/GYN
services
• Required coverage of mammograms
• Guaranteed issue of small group
health insurance coverage
• Guaranteed renewability of
individual coverage
• Guaranteed coverage regardless of
health conditions (HIRSP)
• Individuals could not be dropped
from a policy because of a health
condition
Not only did Wisconsin already address
these issues, insurers and healthcare
providers were working to establish
cost and quality measures to meet
the demands of employers who were
no longer willing to pay upwards of
ten percent a year in healthcare cost
increases.
So now, instead of getting real reform,
employers in Wisconsin will be getting
much of the same, but at a higher cost.
This is in addition to employee coverage
mandates and much more paperwork to
provide to the federal government.
No matter what happens to the ACA
after the November elections, we must
advance policies that will lead to lower
healthcare costs for everyone. I hope
Wisconsin can be a model for the nation
to review.
I am eager for WMC’s new healthcare
committee to be a leader in this
discussion. If you or someone you know
has an interest is being part of the
dialogue, please contact me at
[email protected]. We hope to
commence the discussion this fall. BV
Follow Rebecca on Twitter
@Rebecca_Hogan
• Prohibition of imposing preexisting
conditions in virtually all
markets
• Rating limits imposed on
insurers in a small group
market
• Independent external
review
• Coverage of working
families with children
• Medicaid expansion
• Over 90 percent of the
population with health
insurance
Kurt Bauer leads the panel discussion with Hadley Heath,
Senior Policy Analyst at the Independent Women's Forum, and
Senator Ron Johnson during WMC's Affordable Care Act Update.
26
In Wisconsin, improving health
care quality is health reform
Congratulations Wisconsin! For the fifth straight
year, an independent federal agency
has ranked Wisconsin’s health care
among the very best in the country...
and we can do better.
The pursuit of excellence remains the top priority
for Wisconsin’s community hospitals.
That’s good news for patients and Wisconsin’s
employers. Higher quality care means greater
value for our health care dollars.
High Quality, High Value Health Care
A Wisconsin Advantage
To learn how hospitals are improving health care quality and value in Wisconsin, go to wha.org.
800.511.2098
Ask the WMC
Board
2450 S. Commerce Drive
New Berlin, WI 53151
(262) 786-1600 Tel
(262) 786-5074 Fax
Manufacturing, Inc.
www.advantechmachining.com
Our full service machine shop makes
us your “first to call” and “one stop”
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By utilizing state-of-the-art CNC
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Exhibit Opportunities Available
2013 Safety & Health Conference and Expo
April 22 – 24, 2013
Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells
Show off your safety or health-related products to the more
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or call (800) 236-3400
for more information.
28
W
MC’s healthcare agenda includes initiatives to encourage employers to take innovative steps to improve the health status of their
employees and control their healthcare costs. We have interviewed nearly 20 Wisconsin employers whose healthcare innovations
serve as best practices for others to use as models for their own initiatives. This is just a summary of some of the inspiring stories we’ve
heard. To view all the best practices in detail visit the WMC website: http://www.wmc.org/programs/awardsprogramsbestpractices/
health-care-best-practices/
Business strategies
Wellness Program ComPonents
emPloyee engagement
In most cases, innovative and effective
management of healthcare costs and
employee wellness are driven by company
senior management, often hands on
participation. Following are some of the key
strategies we have observed through our best
practice studies.
They are scalable and can involve a lot of
resources or be done on the cheap. There is
not a one-size-fits all model, it’s what works
for you. Here are some examples of steps our
innovative Wisconsin employers are doing to
improve employee health.
Forward thinking employers establish
innovative programs to control costs and
improve health status, but they have all found
they have to actively engage employees to get
good results. Here are some of the common
best practices.
Companies Set Clear Objectives:
A Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is the
cornerstone for many employee programs:
Companies engage, interest, and connect
employees using programs like:
Reduced absenteeism and productivity
 Reduced healthcare costs
 Improved employee and family health
 Be viewed as the Employer of Choice
 Set example in community

Change employee behaviors through
incentives (and disincentives)
Written and biometric tests
Mandated for employees, offered free to spouses
 Surcharge insurance premiums if don’t participate
 Identify high risk conditions through HRA
 Follow up with personal coaching and aggressive
case management programs




Encourage preventive screening:
 Establish holistic wellness, fitness and prevention
programs with incentives
Mammograms
 PSA
 Blood pressure
Alter plan designs:
Educational programs:
Increase copays and/or deductibles
 Cover all preventive care services at no cost to
employee
 Impose disincentives for unwarranted use of
emergency room services
 Install high deductible plans with Health Savings or
Reimbursement accounts
 Promote/incentivize use of generic drugs and use of
Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM)

Control utilization:
Channel employee purchasing decisions through data
transparence, communications and incentives
 Control the cost of chronic disease utilizing HRA’s with
follow-up counseling.
 Use of healthcare data from insurers and other
sources to encourage the use of high quality, low cost
providers:
 Contract for specific services like bypasses, hip and
knee replacements including at out of area high
quality low cost providers.

Integrate company provided services to
manage disease: Provide a continuum of
preventive and rehabilitative services:
Wellness
Fitness
 Nutrition (cafeteria)
 Physical therapy
 Occupational health


Bring medical services in-house:
On-site clinics: Quad Med, Ashley, Seats Inc. are some
examples
 Physician or Nurse Practitioner on-site weekly.
Counsels employees, conducts sports exams,
administers vaccinations, etc.
 On-site chiropractor and dietician



Bring in outside experts to talk on subjects like
cardiovascular care, smoking cessation, diabetes
management, obesity, etc.
On site fitness facilities:
From state of the art to free used equipment.
Unsupervised to staffed with professional trainer.
 Open programs to organized classes


Employers allow flexible work hours to
facilitate use of facilities:
Access for employee and spouse and dependents
 Some offer 24/7 access

Nutrition:
Company subsidized promotions to encourage
healthy eating
 Healthy options in vending machines. One company
has the vending company insert gift cards in random
healthy choices.
 Promote use of community based agriculture. Some
companies sponsor weekly on-site farmers markets.
 Cafeteria discounts on healthy choices.
 Provide services of a Nutritional counselor

On-site stress management, massage
therapy, etc:
Yoga
Relaxation room
 Flexible schedules
Internal competitions, and challenges
Incentives to participate in wellness activities, and use
preventive and disease management services
Set standards and metrics for incentives:
Participate in Health Risk Assessments
Enroll in Non-smoking programs
 Enroll in weight loss programs
 Use preventive care services. Schedule routine
physical exams
 Attend seminars and lunch and learns
 Get flu shots


Incentive models can take many forms:
Monthly cash rewards
Points programs. Most wellness/fitness/nutrition
activities qualify
 Participation is key, not outcomes
 Incentivize HRA participation. Or mandate it. Some
employers mandate HRA’s for employees and
spouses


Incentives are paid in different ways:
Cash incentives (taxable)
HSA contributions
 Premium reduction credit or employee/employer
share. Some employers change the share by as
much as 60/40% to 75/25% or more.


If your company has established
innovative programs to control
healthcare costs and improve
employee wellness and productivity
let us know and we will consider
featuring you in an upcoming
report. Contact Mike Shoys at
[email protected].


Wisconsin Business Voice
29
Y
T
E
AF Violence:
SWorkplace
Preventing the Unthinkable
By Janie Ritter, Director of Wisconsin Safety Council
A
long with the rest of the
nation, I watched with
horror as the violent event
unfolded at the Sikh temple in
Oak Creek this summer. That
shooting took place the week
after a disgruntled ex-employee
walked into his workplace in
Milwaukee and shot to death
his supervisor. These are horrific,
hard-to-comprehend, surreal, yet
isolated incidents of violence.
Despite the perception, homicides represent a very small
number of workplace violence incidents. Most workplace
violence incidents involve cases of assault, domestic violence,
stalking, harassment and physical or emotional abuse – these
cases you rarely hear about in the news. However, if not dealt
with timely and properly, these incidents can escalate into a
homicide situation - something we all hope will never happen
in our place of business.
Homicides in the workplace are currently the fourth-leading
cause of fatal occupational injuries in the U.S., behind traffic
accidents, contact with equipment, and falls. Even though the
occurrences of homicides in the workplace are trending down,
workplace violence is always a major concern for employers.
Studies indicate each year close to 2 million American workers
report having been victims of workplace violence. And, as
with any abuse situation, many more go unreported. Assessing
possible risks is an important early step in violence prevention.
The following are a few factors that may increase a worker’s
risk for workplace violence:
• exchange of money
• delivery of passengers, goods or services
• contact with the public
• working with volatile, unstable people
• working alone or in small groups
• working early in the morning or late at night
• working in high crime areas
Workplace violence falls into four categories:
1. Violence committed by criminals with no connection to the
workplace (largest group)
2. Violence directed toward employees by customers, clients or
others whom an organization provides a service
3. Violence against a co-worker, supervisor or manager by
current or former employee
30
4. Violence committed by a nonemployee but has a connection to an
employee (domestic issue)
When violence comes from categories
3 or 4 above (employee or someone
connected to an employee) there is a
greater chance of you will see warning
signs.
As a business leader, you play an
extremely important role in the
prevention of workplace violence. The
safety and welfare of your employees
goes beyond managing the traditional
risks: traffic accidents, slip and trips, or
injuries involving machinery.
Warning Signs/Changes in
Behavior
• Tardiness, unexplained absences
or unplanned-use of leave time
• Anxiety
• Lack of concentration
• Change in job performance
• Noticeable isolation from
coworkers
• Disruptive phone calls or e-mail
• Sudden requests to be moved
from public locations in the
workplace
• Unexplained bruises or injuries
• Noticeable change in use of
makeup (to cover up injuries)
• Disruptive visits from current or
former intimate partner
• Acting uncharacteristically
moody, depressed, or distracted
• In the process of ending a
relationship
• Being the victim of vandalism
or threats
Workplace violence is a serious concern,
not only because of the human factor,
but also as a business practice. There are many economic
costs to employers including negative effects on your bottom
line with lost work time, decreased employee morale and
trust, lower productivity, increased medical and workers
compensation costs, and the list goes on.
We all hope we don’t have to deal with a workplace violence
situation, but it behooves us to be prepared in case we do. BV
Follow WSC on Twitter @WISafetyCouncil
Prevention Strategies
To prevent or minimize the risk of violence in the workplace, employers
should enact appropriate precautions, including:
 Establish and communicate
a fair and consistent zerotolerance policy toward
workplace violence: a policy
covering all workers, patients,
clients, visitors, contractors, and
anyone else who comes into
contact with your staff.
 Assess work environments:
create physical separation
between public and worker,
use appropriate lighting and
environment layout including
entrances and exit access. Ensure
high-risk areas are more visible.
 Adopt a carefully written
and implemented Workplace
Violence Prevention Program:
include in your Employee
Handbook, or Operations
Manual.
 Training: train employees in
non-violent response and
conflict resolution tactics, and
provide them with information
on hazards associated with
specific tasks or worksites with
appropriate work practices/
policies and risk prevention
solutions.
 Support victims of workplace
violence: Communicate internal
and external resources available
to employees. Foster trust
and respect among workers
and between employee and
management. Watch for
warning signs.
Chapter of
Safety Training
The Wisconsin Safety Council, a division
of WMC, is the reason more people go
home safely every day from manufacturing
plants, offices, and construction sites. WSC
offers training throughout the year at
locations across the state.
MILWAUKEE AREA
October 10
Confined Space, Train-the-Trainer
November 2
OSHA Recordkeeping Rule & Review
November 8
Creating a World-Class Safety Culture
MADISON AREA
October 2
RCRA Compliance for Hazardous Waste Generators
Overview
October 2
DOT Hazmat Transportation Refresher Overview
October 9
Coaching the Lift Truck Operator, Train-the-Trainer
October 15-18
Safety Management Techniques (SMT), part of the
Advanced Safety Certificate Series
October 24
HazCom, Train-the-Trainer
November 5-8
Worker’s Compensation Case Management & Workplace
Anatomy
December 4
OSHA Recordkeeping Rule & Review
December 6
Effective Team Safety
December 12
Worker’s Compensation Law Symposium
December 13
Lockout/Tagout, Train-the-Trainer
FOX VALLEY/GREEN BAY AREA
October 30-November 2
OSHA 30-hour Voluntary Compliance Course for General
Industry
November 13
OSHA Recordkeeping Rule & Review
MID-STATE AREA
October 10 (Eau Claire)
Coaching the Lift Truck Operator, Train-the-Trainer
November 7 (Stevens Point)
Incident Investigation
November 14 (Marshfield)
Supervisor Development: Safety & Health Fundamentals
December 3 (Wausau)
OSHA Recordkeeping Rule & Review
December 4-5 (Stevens Point)
OSHA 10-hour Voluntary Compliance Course for General
Industry
December 12 (Marshfield)
Safety Inspections
For a complete schedule and
registration information, visit
www.wisafetycouncil.org
Decision 2012 Part IV: EPA Trainwreck
October 24, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Best Western Bridgewood Resort Hotel, Neenah
$35 per person
Featured Speakers: Congressman Reid Ribble (R – 8th District) and Ross Eisenberg,
Vice President of Energy Resource, National Association of Manufacturers
The EPA has proposed a series of rules that will significantly increase the cost of energy.
Wisconsin will be uniquely impacted by the EPA rules because of our heavy concentration of
manufacturing jobs, and our investment in coal for electricity. The Decision 2012 Briefing will
explain how these rules are likely to increase the cost of doing business, and what can be done
to rein in the EPA.
Visit www.wmc.org or call (608) 258-3400 for more information and to register.
Wisconsin Business Voice
31
W
E
N
Y
N
A
P
M
O
CCompany
News
Advanced Welding Institute
Opens Location in Wisconsin
Advanced
Welding Institute
is opening a
welding school
in Eagle River
in northeastern
Wisconsin. The post-secondary welding
school offers accelerated welding
programs to meet the growing demand of
skilled labor in Wisconsin manufacturing.
AWI students have the option to choose
the structural program which is 15 weeks,
and AWI will also offer night classes and
upgrade training to employers to increase
employee productivity and skill in the
workplace.
www.wiweldingschool.com
Modine Manufacturing CEO
Named 2012 Distinguished
Citizen of the Year
Established by
the Boy Scouts
of America, the
Distinguished Citizen
of the Year Award
recognizes noteworthy
and extraordinary
leadership of citizens
across the United State who demonstrate
values expressed in the Scout Law. Tom
Burke, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Modine Manufacturing
Company in Racine, has been chosen
as the 2012 Distinguished Citizen of
the Year by the Three Harbors Council
of the Boy Scouts of America. Burke
and Modine Manufacturing are being
honored for the impact he and the
company have on the Racine community.
Briggs & Stratton CEO
Honored with Distinguished
Alumni Award
Skyward, Inc. Earns 2012
Reader’s Choice Award for
School Management System
Todd Teske serves
as the chairman,
president and chief
executive officer of
the world’s largest
producer of gasoline
engines and a leader
in outdoor power
products with revenues exceeding
$2 billion annually. He is also the elected
chair of WMC, and a 1987 graduate of
the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
This October, Teske will be one of five
top alumni to receive the UW Oshkosh
Alumni Association’s highest honor—
the Distinguished Alumni Award—at
a dinner as part of the University’s
Homecoming 2012 activities.
Skyward, Inc. in
Stevens Point is a
leading provider
of K-12 school
administrative
software that surpasses districts’ needs
in state reporting, improves operational
capabilities, and opens communication
between schools and families. Each
year the readers of eSchool News,
eCampus News and eClassroom News
nominate their top picks for hardware,
software, website and services. Nearly
1,300 nominations were submitted,
and Skyward was the only student
management system to receive the
award this year. For more than 30 years,
Skyward has served more than 80 percent
of Wisconsin’s school districts, serving
“It is a testament to Todd’s intelligence,
more than 614,400 of Wisconsin’s
work ethic and leaderships skills that
students. Over the years Skyward has
he has, in a relatively short time frame,
hired 206 graduates of Wisconsin
climbed to the top of one of the state’s
signature corporations with a brand name Technical Colleges and UW campuses
across the state and projects creating
recognizable the world over,” said
nearly 600 new jobs over the next
Kurt Bauer, President/CEO of WMC.
10 years.
Patch Products Receives
Recognition as a Leader among
Family-Owned Businesses
Due to its
strong employee
work ethic and
unwavering devotion to having fun,
Patch Products was recognized for being
a leader among family-owned businesses
in the state of Wisconsin. The CPA
firm Smith & Gesteland honored Patch
Products at their annual Wisconsin
Family Business of the Year Awards in
Madison this May, with its Work Hard Play Hard Award.
www.patchproducts.com
www.skyward.com
Top Floor Technologies Moving
to the “Top Floor”
Top Floor
Technologies,
a leader in
industrial web design and marketing,
recently completed a move to the
Security Insurance Building on
S. Moorland Road in New Berlin. “We
want to create a more enjoyable and
productive work environment for our
team and customers,” said Jim Bernthal,
President of Top Floor Technologies. The
company has grown exponentially over
the years, increasing from a staff of six to
a team of twenty-five.
strategic internet marketing solutions
www.topfloortech.com
32
WMC at Home and on the Road
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1.WMC met with a group of mayors from Argentina who wanted to
discuss economic development in Wisconsin.
2.WMC’s Senior Vice President of Government Relations James
Buchen met with Chad Lee, U.S. Congressional candidate
(R-Madison).
3.Along with many concerned manufacturers, educators and
community leaders, a high school student attended a WMC
Foundation Workforce Paradox listening session and offered
suggestions on how manufacturers can better reach out to
students and parents.
4.Secretary of Administration Mike Huebsch spoke to the WMC
Small Business Committee.
5.WMC’s current and many past chairmen gathered in Milwaukee.
First row (l-r): Tom Boldt, The Boldt Company; Bob Cornog, Snapon Incorporated; Ray Gregg, John Deere Horicon Works; Bob
Spitzer, Murphy Products Company, Inc.; Rock Flowers, Nelson
Industries, Inc. Second row: Jim Haney, former WMC President;
Terry Growcock, The Manitowoc Company, Inc.; Randy Knox,
W.D. Hoard & Sons Company; WMC Chair Todd Teske, Briggs
& Stratton Corporation; Tom Howatt, Wausau Paper Corp.; Art
Nesbitt, Nasco International, Inc.
6.WMC’s Kurt Bauer, right, and Dan Ariens, President/CEO of
Ariens Company, second from left, honored Rep. Al Ott (R-Forest
Junction), left, and Sen. Frank Lasee (R-De Pere), second from
right, with Working Wisconsin Awards during an event celebrating
the production of 3 million Sno-throwers at Ariens Company in
Brillion.
7.UW System President Kevin Reilly and David Brukardt, Associate
Vice President of the Office of Economic Development for the UW
System met with WMC executives to discuss ways the two entities
can work together.
8.Throughout the summer, Wisconsin Safety Council Director Janie
Ritter toured the state visiting the Wisconsin Corporate Safety
Award Winners and presenting each company with a CSA flag.
Here she is with Dillman Inc.
9.Members of WMC’s staff visited many companies this summer
to award legislators with the Working for Wisconsin awards (see
p. 7 for the complete list). WMC’s James Buchen, left, visited
Caterpillar to honor Rep. Mark Honadel (R-South Milwaukee).
Wisconsin Business Voice
33
Let’s Get Back to Working, the
Wisconsin Way
By Tommy G. Thompson, Candidate for U.S. Senate
W
isconsin’s role in this year’s election
is hard to overstate. Not only does
Wisconsin feature our very own Vice
Presidential candidate, Paul Ryan, but
with my victory we have the chance to
provide the U.S. Senate the 51st vote to
change the course of the country.
Our country is in crisis, with Washington’s
leadership providing one broken promise
after another that have left our country worse off. On our
current course, we are in danger of breaking perhaps our
most-important promise, the promise to leave our country in
better shape and with greater opportunity for our children and
grandchildren.
There’s the “Wisconsin Way” where we get government out of
the way by cutting taxes, growing the economy and creating
jobs which is what we did when I was governor. Together, we
created 750,000 jobs while I cut taxes 91 times, delivering over
a billion dollars in property tax cuts.
For the past four years, we’ve seen Tammy Baldwin further
embrace the “Washington D.C. Way” of more government and
higher taxes and the results have sent our country in the wrong
direction:
1. Record Debt - Over the past four years, Baldwin has
joined Democrats in driving our country’s debt to a
staggering $16 trillion, an 81 percent increase in the past
four years alone. I support the Romney/Ryan plan - we
can’t spend more than we take in.
2. Explosion of Entitlements - In the 1960s, government
transfers to individuals equaled $24 billion in current
dollars, by 2010 that amount was nearly 100 times as
large - and that doesn’t include the addition of the single
largest entitlement, the Baldwin-supported Obamacare.
When the economy fails, government grows - we need to
reverse that trend.
3. “Work Wanted” vs. “Help Wanted” - Currently, there
are 23 million Americans struggling to find work. As
government spending and regulation get in the way of
job creation, our unemployment rate climbs. Baldwin
doesn’t have a plan for turning those haunting “work
wanted” signs into “help wanted” signs. We’ve done it in
Wisconsin, and can do for the country what we did in our
great state.
4. The Unfulfilled Promise of a College Degree - A college
degree used to mean they key to opportunity, now with
over half of all recent college graduates unable to find
work, the college diploma has become an unfortunate
symbol of the broken promise of a better America. Our
stalled economy isn’t providing opportunity and bailouts;
stimulus packages and massive government programs
aren’t the answer.
5. Falling Family Income and Rising Costs - The heartland
has been challenged as family income has fallen by an
average of $4,000 over the past four years, yet the cost
of living has increased as food, utility, gasoline and
healthcare premiums have skyrocketed, often doubling.
Yet, Baldwin has supported 135 new tax increases, while
voting to raise our country’s debt ceiling seven times. We
don’t need higher taxes and more government spending,
we need less.
We don’t need Baldwin’s plan for more of the same, we need a
new opportunity and a new direction for our country. We must
get our country working again, with real reforms like those that
have worked in Wisconsin, rather than the “Government first,
business second” philosophy my opponent and the Washington
leadership have embraced the past four years. Together, we can
keep our promise to our future generations, and it begins with
your help on November 6. BV
Thank You Senator Kohl
W
MC and WMEP thank Senator Kohl for his diligent effort representing
the people of Wisconsin for the past 23 years. Senator Kohl’s work with the
Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership has helped WMEP thrive and grow.
Senator Kohl with WMEP's
Buckley Brinkman.
34
“The Senator has been a tireless supporter of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership
system and the Wisconsin MEP. Senator Kohl was there at the formation of this
system that helps small and medium sized manufacturers flourish and thrive. His
leadership and continuous support for funding assured that these operations would
have the same resources as their larger cousins.
We Must Invest in a “Made in
Wisconsin” Economy
By Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Candidate for U.S. Senate
F
or the past 14 years as a member
of Congress, I have always had an
open door for the Wisconsin business
community and, if elected to the U.S.
Senate that will continue. You deserve
a Senator who will listen and work for
Wisconsin.
I have fought to secure research and
development investments for Wisconsin
businesses and I have proactively reached out to the business
community on important issues like manufacturing, energy,
health care costs, innovation, and research and development.
As I travel across Wisconsin, I do a lot of listening and
wherever I go businesses leaders tell me about the need to cut
taxes for small businesses and invest in education and training
to grow our economy and create jobs. They talk about the need
for our education system to provide the skilled workers they
need to compete and prosper. And they express frustration with
the disconnect of the partisan debates in Washington. They
believe we need more compromise, not less, and they are right.
I have been proud to be strong advocate for public private
partnerships to grow our economy. Innovation has always been
a key driver of U.S. prosperity and competitiveness throughout
our country’s history. Wisconsin, and particularly the University
of Wisconsin System, has been a leader in research, science and
innovation.
In Wisconsin, we believe in hard work. For decades, we’ve made
things: paper, engines, tools, ships.
Give our workers and businesses a fair shot, and we’ll compete
against anyone. That’s why I’m taking on China’s cheating – and
betting on Wisconsin.
I have worked across party lines to introduce and pass
bipartisan legislation to take on China’s unfair trade practices
and strengthen Wisconsin’s manufacturing economy by evening
the playing field for workers in our state. Together with Fox
Valley Congressman Reid Ribble, I introduced the CHEATS
Act, which would allow the U.S. to impose countervailing
duties on Chinese imports that are heavily subsidized by the
Chinese government.
Working with Senator Herb Kohl, I have pressed the
federal government for a balanced approach to regulations
on Wisconsin’s paper manufacturers so that we protect our
environment and public health, while at the same time we
work to strengthen Wisconsin’s manufacturing economy.
Heeding the concerns of Wisconsin’s paper manufacturers, we
made a strong case for Wisconsin manufacturers and urged
the administration to allow more time to implement the new
standards.
I have also worked across party lines to strengthen Wisconsin’s
economy with Senator Ron Johnson. Together, we both
supported rebuilding the St. Croix bridge because I understand
strengthening our infrastructure is a very important component
to our global competitiveness. Wisconsin businesses need a
strong infrastructure to move their goods and products to
market.
In Wisconsin, we’ve always counted on manufacturing as
a foundation of our economy and it is a foundation I am
committed to strengthening. In order to move our economic
recovery forward we must invest in a “Made in Wisconsin”
economy. When we do, we will create jobs and an economy
built to last- where both the middle class and business benefit
with shared prosperity. BV
Senator Kohl also provides personal support for the state’s manufacturers. He makes countless trips to factories throughout
Wisconsin to see the challenges they face first-hand. Wherever manufacturers need help, Senator Kohl has been there.
His retirement is the end of an era. I grew up shaking hands with Bill Proxmire at stadiums, state fairs, and town meetings. He took
a passionate interest in the wellbeing of the people of Wisconsin. Senator Kohl carried on that tradition,
fighting for all of us in the way that only he can.
Thank you. You will be missed!” - Buckley Brinkman, Executive Director/CEO, Wisconsin Manufacturing
Extension Partnership
More to Madison than Politics
By Jennifer Alexander, President, Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
M
adison is 30 square miles
surrounded by reality. When these
words were spoken in 1978 by soon-tobe Governor Lee Dreyfus, the question
was not about the political correctness of
Madison. It was – is it really 30 square
miles?
While the mileage has increased and
been questioned through the years, the
perception of Madison has stuck. As the
Capital City and the geographic location
of the past year’s intense political scene,
the perception may be at an all-time
high.
Now, I’m not writing to defend nor deny
the perceptions of Madison politics. I’ve
seen both sides bring passion to many
topics as I’ve worked as a small business
owner, a high school principal, a cabinet
member under two Governors and now
the retiring President of the Greater
Madison Chamber of Commerce.
What I am writing about is the rest
of Madison. The non-political side of
Madison.
Imagine for a minute, in an It’s-aWonderful-Life type of way, what
Wisconsin would look like without
Madison?
First, imagine our state without the
University of Wisconsin and the
educational opportunities it offers. Now,
take away the 130,000 jobs throughout
the state that UW-Madison and its
affiliated organizations support while
generating $614 million in Wisconsin
tax revenue.
Next, factor in the nearly $7 billion in
income generated throughout the state
from the Wisconsin bioscience sector.
Factor out about one-fourth of that as
the Madison area is home to almost
25 percent of Wisconsin’s bioscience
establishments.
Then, eliminate the area’s $1.86 billion
agriculture industry that supports nearly
60,000 jobs. And remember, the state’s
sales tax revenue would need to decline
by 12.5 percent. Impressive given that
Dane County’s population is less than 8
percent of the state’s population.
Oh, and don’t forget to remove 14.5
percent of Wisconsin’s Gross Domestic
Product as well.
My point is – a successful Madison area
contributes to a successful state. The
Greater Madison area has a significant
economic impact on Wisconsin. And
exciting things are happening here.
Shouldn’t we celebrate that our state
has housed and grown many national
companies such as Oscar Mayer,
American Family Insurance, Trek Bikes,
Epic Systems and Spectrum Brands
just to name a few? These recognizable
brands have benefitted the entire state.
All of this growth, all of this economic
impact isn’t because of Madison’s politics;
it is because Madison is a great place for
business, for family and for life. When
Madison ranks as one of the top places
in the nation for young professionals
to work as well as retirees to relocate, it
helps our tourism industry and puts our
state on the map.
It’s a Wonderful Life ends with the main
character finding Zuzu’s petals in his
pocket, remembering that without
him, his daughter would not have been
born. Maybe drawing the same analogy
to an old Badger ticket stub is a little
too much? Maybe the better way to
say it is this – the next time you hear
someone dismiss Madison because of its
‘crazy politics,’ remember… a successful
Madison contributes to a successful
Wisconsin.
No matter how many square miles we
have. BV
Jennifer Alexander
is the President of
Greater Madison
Chamber of
Commerce. She is
retiring at the end of
this year after nine
years of service.
Business Directories and Lists
Available from WMC
2013 Directories now available.
Access to lists is now easier and less expensive with our new lineup of
Dun & Bradstreet® data products. WMC’s printed directories from Harris
InfoSource and custom lists from MailingListsXPRESS or Online Data
Service from Infogroup® make your data dollars last.
Contact Mike Shoys to order yours today, [email protected], (608) 258-3400.
36
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